Styling Wears Well On Monte Carlo Ss

August 17, 1986|By John Hicks of the Sentinel Staff

For some drivers, there is nothing to compare with rolling along in a big, bad car to the mellow grumble of a brawny V-8. And if that car has a fleet of fast-flying cousins on the stock-car racing circuit, so much the better.

The Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS is one of those muscular machines with a race-track reputation. NASCAR is the Monte Carlo's stomping ground, and that translates to prestige on the street.

Popular in its straightforward, squarish way since 1983, the SS now is available in a slightly different form: the Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe. Essentially, the Aerocoupe is an SS with a fastback rear window and a trunk- lid modification to accommodate the new glass. Otherwise it's pretty much the same tough-talking machine -- for which SS fans will, no doubt, be grateful.

An early example of the Aerocoupe, provided by the manufacturer through Holler Chevrolet in Winter Park, came with a healthly measure of muscle-car glory for $16,850. Unlike a hollowed-out racer, however, the Aerocoupe lets you blast along in comfort, with power windows and power door locks and ample stereo for when you don't want to listen to the exhaust.

Not listening won't be easy because, when this engine talks, people have to listen. It's 305 cubic inches (5 liters) and 180 horsepower of pure persuasion. Fitted with a four-barrel carburetor, this motor can break the rear tires loose without even breathing hard.

Decent performance, considering that the only transmission Chevy uses in the SS is an automatic overdrive unit, which might not impress hard-core performance fans. On the other hand, stepping on the Aerocoupe's accelerator and letting it take care of the rest can be an impressive experience.

While the Aerocoupe flies on wide Goodyear Eagle GT tires and has the general bearing of a no-nonsense stoplight dragster, its coil spring ''sport supension,'' with front and rear anti-roll bars, manages to be supple as well as sporting. It provides a pleasant, big-car ride in straight-and-level flight and puts the 3,500-pound car through hard turns with decent stability.

Muscle car the Aerocoupe may be, but its power-assisted, recirculating- ball steering hardly requires any muscle. The car is responsive, easy to drive and stops plenty quick from legal speeds, thanks to power front-disc and rear-drum brakes.

The smooth nose, with integrated plastic bumper cover and air dam, is similar to that of the regular SS, but the Aerocoupe's rear glass cuts a steep angle from the edge of the roof to a bit more than halfway back on the trunk area. The improved aerodynamics permit an increased speed of about 5 mph on the track with no increase in engine size.

The resulting small trunk lid won't permit stowage of a foot locker, but any luggage or packages that make the bend, so to speak, will be accommodated in the usual large space, which now extends under a big parcel shelf.

The trunk lid, with opening controlled by a gas-charged strut between lid and trunk floor in the test car, will have mini-sized gas-charged shock absorbers built into the hinge system to improve access in the '87 Aerocoupe. The white test car, with multi-colored accent stripes and red Monte Carlo SS graphics, showed a few shortcomings of early production, such as ill- fitting rubber trim around the rear window and air bubbles under the accent stripes, but nothing to get overheated about.